The present invention relates to chewing gums having an improved release of thaumatin, monellin and like high intensity sweeteners and flavoring enhancers contained therein, and their method of manufacture.
In order to reduce carogenicity, many chewing gums employ sugar substitutes to provide sweetness and flavor. Sugar substitutes include high intensity sweeteners. High intensity sweeteners exhibit a greater sweetness than identical amounts of sucrose. High intensity sweeteners are known to be hundreds and sometimes thousands of times sweeter than sugar.
High intensity sweeteners of recent interest for use in gums include aspartame, acesulfame K, cyclamates, saccharin, sucralose, thaumatin, and monellin. Though most high intensity sweeteners currently known release relatively quickly from chewing gum, some, such as thaumatin, monellin, and the like, do not completely release from the chewing gum upon salivation or during chewing. As a result, the flavor and sweetness of these high intensity sweeteners is not fully experienced.
Thaumatin is a proteinaceous substance obtained from the fruit of the tropical plant Thaumatococcus daniellii which grows in tropical Africa. Thaumatin is about 2,000 to 3,000 times sweeter than sucrose and is known to have a lingering sweet aftertaste. The sweet protein monellin, obtained from the fruit of the tropical plant Diosocoreophyllum cumminsii, has taste properties similar to thaumatin.
Thaumatin and monellin, apart from their intense sweetness, are recognized as high-potency flavor and sweetness adjuvants capable of potentiating sweetness and flavor in chewing gum compositions. See, for example, van der Loo et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,984 and Burge et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,198.
Unfortunately, thaumatin and monellin are expensive and, when mixed directly with gum base and other ingredients in a conventional manner, must be present in substantial amounts before a noticeable flavoring or sweetness enhancement can be achieved. It is theorized that the thaumatin or monellin tend to become bound up in the gum base when mixed directly with the base, with the result that the base masks the flavor and sweetners potentiating effects of these sweet proteins.
Chewing gums, containing high intensity sweeteners with improved release characteristics would therefore constitute an advance in the art. These gums would be readily accepted and enjoy commercial success.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide chewing gums containing high intensity sweeteners having improved release characteristics. It is another object of the present invention to provide chewing gums which require less than the amount of high intensity sweetener currently believed in the art necessary to impart an acceptable sweetness and flavor. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing chewing gums containing high intensity sweeteners having the release characteristics mentioned above. It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a method of adding a high intensity sweetener to other chewing gum ingredients which is less hazardous and less sensitive to technician error.
These and other objects will become apparent in light of the following specification. It is to be understood, however, that the above mentioned objectives are not to be considered a limitation of the present invention, the scope of which is delineated in the appended claims.